Sunday, April 2, 2017

My love for elephants
knows no bounds ! ~ and topping the list would always be the majestic Azhwar of
Sri Parthasarathi swami temple, Triplicane that passed away in 1977.

Downunder, Taronga Western
Plains staff in Dubbo are in mourning following the death of the zoo’s longest
resident.Cuddles the elephant was Australia’s last surviving African elephant.
Thought to be about 46 years old, she was euthanised following an age-related illness.“Cuddles was
a well known resident of the zoo and much loved by staff, volunteers and
visitors alike,” the zoo said in a statement.Dubbo zoo vets had developed a
special aged care plan for Cuddles and two other Asian elephants advanced in
age - Burma and Gigi. Over the past week however, her health began to fail
following digestive complications.Cuddleshad arrived at the Dubbo zoo the same year it
opened, in 1977. She was shipped from Britain with two other female African
elephants, Yum Yum and Cheri.

Away at Sandiego, the trust
which organised the transfer of Mila, the elephant to Zoo is pleased she got to live
her final years as her former trainer wanted her to. The African elephant was
44 when she died in America this week - relatively young for an elephant in
captivity. Mila was an ex-circus elephant who spent her last years in New
Zealand under the care of Dr Helen Schofield, director of Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary, where
her natural elephant behaviours and free choice were encouraged.

Back home, there is
something to cheer as an elephant, which
accidentally fell into a 45 feet deep well in a village on the outskirts of
Coimbatore, was rescued by forest and fire personnel on Thursday.The
10-year-old male elephant, part of a herd which came in search of water in
Kovanur village, accidentally fell into the dry well on Tuesday night and was
noticed by the villagers on Thursday morning, after it trumpeted. Efforts by
forest department and Fire and Rescue department officials to bring it up,
failed to bear fruit on Thursday due to non-availability of necessary equipment
and personnel, forest department officials said.

Indian Express reports
that Clockwork precision and deft handling helped Coimbatore forest officials
rescue an elephant calf after a five hour-long rescue operation from a
50-foot-deep dry well at Kovanur in Periyanacikenpalayam forest range in
Coimbatore on Thursday afternoon. After
getting first-aid, the little jumbo headed straight to the forest amid applause
from NGO volunteers and local villagers, who stayed put for over five hours
while the officials carried out the arduous and risky rescue operation.

If there were any nerves,
the officials did not show signs of it as the first round of the operation was
ably managed by K Asokan, veterinarian of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR),
who administered a tranquilizer shot that sedated the little one around 10.15
am – nearly 30 hours after it fell into the well. E Vijayaragavan, veterinarian
of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) assisted Asokan.An hour later, when the effects
of the tranquilizer started kicking in, four forest staff were lowered into the
well. They deftly tied belts around the animal’s chest and stomach – a risky
operation that could have cost the pachyderm its life. Experts say lifting an
elephant using a rope is a difficult task, as pachyderms do not have pleural
space. Any kind of pressure on the chest and sternum for more than 10-15
minutes can lead to suffocation, and death. Hence, placing the ropes deftly
without putting the elephant’s life at risk was an arduous task. Moreover,
exact placement of rope and shifting weight to stomach too was very crucial.

The sedative – Xylazine –
was used to induce sleep, said the vets. The precaution was taken as there was
a crowd of by-standers and any loud noise could have disturbed the jumbo to
disastrous consequences. According to S Ramasubramanian, District Forest
Officer, Coimbatore, “Though the animal fell into a 50-foot-deep well, the
animal seems not to have suffered an internal haemorrhage. After bring the little
one out, both veterinarians applied ointment to the bruises on its forehead. We
also administrated injections of vitamins, pain killer and long acting
antibiotic. The combination drugs would have effect for at least three more
days.” Singling out fire and rescue service department for showering praise, he
said, “They helped us by deftly lowering forest staff inside the well using a
rope.

They were at the ready to
rescue the staff, in case there was an attack. However, the animal cooperated
with us,” he said. Stating that the animal showed no sign of external injury,
he said that the pachyderm went straight into the forest. “A team has been
formed to monitor it. It will get reunited with its herd soon,” he hoped.